Maryland College Grants

Depending on your needs, your academic standing, and what you want to be when you "grow up", the state of Maryland offers several conditional grants to students seeking a higher education within the state. Some are merit based, while others are based on financial needs. Yet others are guaranteed only with the promise that you will work in the same field as your course of study would suggest. For what types of grants are you eligible, and how much money do they entail?

The Maryland Higher Education Commission offers both need and merit based scholarships and grants in many areas, some even related to field of study. For example, the Sharon Christa McAuliffe Memorial Teacher Education Award is given to a recipient who promises in writing to work full time for one year in the Maryland Public School system for each year the award is received in a critical shortage area.

For those interested in law enforcement or criminal justice who are residents of the state between the ages of 17 and 21, there the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association scholarship. Two are awarded yearly, based on scholastic achievement and community and school involvement. The Need Based Senatorial Scholarship can be applied for by any current high school senior or full or part time graduate or undergraduate degree seeking student who is a state resident. It is given on the basis of financial need as demonstrated on the FAFSA and usually ranges from $200 to $2000.

If you are a high school student in Maryland who has taken college prep classes and has a 2.5 GPA or higher planning to enroll in a 2- or 4-year college or university, you are eligible for the Guaranteed Access Grant, assuming that you demonstrate financial need and meet certain income requirements.

List of Maryland College Grants

• College Bound Last-Dollar Grant — $400 to $3000 awarded each year to 90-250 undergraduate students attending Maryland college.


• Educational Assistance Grants-Maryland — $400 to $2700 awarded to 11000-20000 undergraduate students attending Massachusetts college.


• Guaranteed Access Grant-Maryland — $400 to $13800 awarded to up to 1000 undergraduate and graduate students attending Maryland college.


• J.F. Tolbert Memorial Student Grant Program — Up to $400 awarded to 400 freshmen or sophomore undergraduate students attending Maryland college.


• Part-Time Grant Program-Maryland — $200 to $1000 awarded to undergraduate students attending Maryland college.


• Sharon Christa Mcauliffe Teacher Education-Critical Shortage Grant Program — $200 to $17000 awarded each year to 137 junior or senior undergraduate or graduate students and Maryland resident.

Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.